Grab MAME 0.127 from the Latest MAME Release page.

Of course they’re all available for free download in my MAME section, so grab them while they’re nice and warm.

That’s right, not only has MAME been around for 11 years, there’s also a new release:

MAME version 0.123 which supports over 6,960+ ROM sets and 3,705+ unique games.

This is great news for classic arcade gamers like myself. Be sure to grab the latest releases from my MAME download page. Enjoy!

I blew the dust off, gave it a nice wipe down, installed a new 72 pin connector and the thing runs like new. All my games work too. It’s like being back in the early 1980′s again.

So in my quest for Nintendo pirate treasure, I’ve also located both original NES controllers, the grey (the original) Zapper light gun and the rare Power Pad.

Everything works like it did back in 1985. Kick ass. Now that’s playing with power!

As an added bonus, I also have an Original Game Boy in almost mint condition, complete with box, Tetris, headphones and link cable. Basically how it was first released. Yeah, I’m a geek.

Over the weekend I plan on taking some pictures of my geektastic NES collection of gaming goodness and posting it for your viewing pleasure.

I’m also in the search for any original Nintendo “stuff” you might have and don’t want… it doesn’t matter what it is, just let me know as I might want it. Your trash could be treasure to me.

For those readers that are feeling in a “giving” mood, I’m accepting donations to my Nintendo addiction and more then willing to cover shipping fees and maybe a little extra for you depending on what you have.

This XBLA and PSN release is in addition to Capcom’s upcoming full 3D remake/sequel of the series and will be a completely separate title.

Master D Revival Plan is reportedly a 3D title that “promises to maintain the flavor of the original title,” which presumably means side scrolling gameplay and (hopefully) a firm adherence to the original’s pseudo-adventure-game style.

A Japanese version of the downloadable game is planned for Spring, but release plans for an American or European version have yet to be announced.

Source: IGN: Bionic Commando Remake Set for PS3

A project that caught my attention in the last couple of days is a port of the classic Infogrames / EA title SimCity — released for just about every platform known to man — into an open-source implementation named Micropolis.

Thank programmer Don Hopkins for his hard work.

Since the original SimCity source code has been released under the GPL, he decided to make a version that runs on Linux and port it to the OLPC.

Said port — named “Micropolis” for the same reason that community builds of Firefox are not called Firefox — has been heavily rewritten to run well as a modern application, and is still a bit of an ongoing project.

The whole thing is available either as a source package or a compiled Win32 binary, the latter of which isn’t itself an actual playable version of the game but just a demo — for the time being.

Bill Simser has been writing a series of posts documenting how to create a playable game from this code on Win32, and for anyone interested in programming — and not just game programming — it’s absorbing reading.

I also read with no small amount of fascination the long-term goals for Micropolis — things like multiplayer support and porting to many other languages are all in the works.

I think there’s a lot more than nostalgia at work here. Aside from SimCity being a hugely influential and fun game to begin with, I think game programming is one of the better ways for people to understand open source — either as a programmer or a user.

Once explained in that context, I’d think open source becomes that much easier to understand in other contexts — and concepts like the lvarious licensing schemes and whatnot can be related in a fairly straightforward way.

If there’s one thing about open source that remains something of a mystery to most people, it’s why open source development works the way it does.

You may not persuade people to become programmers, but you can at least make their job a little less mystifying.

On a side note, my longtime favorite open-source game remains NetHack. You’d never think a simple cursor and some ASCII graphics could still be so addictive in this day and age.

You can choose your party of four from 11 different characters, including the expected Sonic crew of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow, as well as Amy, Rouge, and Big the Cat.

You’ll be able to spot enemies on the field, giving you some flexibility in just when you engage in the turn-based combat. Control will be apparently be entirely stylus-based, a la Phantom Hourglass.

There will be team attacks and special attacks, which you can flat-out purchase or level up. Rings will naturally be the currency of the land and the game takes place in two acts: the first is in the more familiar Sonic environment while the second is a darker world.

JeuxFrance has scans of the screenshots from the article, and they look absolutely lovely. I tingle with anticipation and cross my fingers that this all works out for the best.

If, like me, you’re getting antsy waiting for Burnout Paradise, this might be just enough to tide you over, though 1200 points is still awfully pricey.

You can grab Burnout 3 starting on Monday. That’s assuming you can connect to Live to download it, of course.

Live service has been suffering lately due to “server strain” brought on by a huge upsurge in demand over the holidays.

The Xbox team has been scrambling ever since to get it back to normal, with varying degrees of success.

I’ve been getting mixed reports. Some of my friends say Live is smooth as pudding, while others are still frustrated.

I’m having trouble getting and staying connected. What’s it like for you?

Much to my dismay, while First Slice does offer more gameplay than the previous demo, it offers no new content to those who have already played the full version of Portal.

To get your hands on First Slice, head to this webpage.

The site will automatically scan your PC for Nvidia products, and once you’ve been verified you’ll be given the option to download Portal: First Slice to your existing (or newly created) Steam account.

Additionally, Nvidia users can also download Peggle Extreme, Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, and the Half-Life 2 tech demonstration level The Lost Coast free of charge from that same site.